My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Chapter 14 The Secret Here

The prince, whose "reputation" had been forcibly preserved, was writing a letter when he saw the trio enter and casually asked, "Where did Xie Yan go?"

After waiting for a while, but receiving no response, he turned around and saw three people with complicated yet sympathetic eyes.

Chu Ling, who hadn't quite heard the commotion at the door because of the loud thunder, thought: "?"

Meng Lan, realizing her belt was still not fastened correctly, exclaimed, "Oh, Your Highness, Young Master Xie said he's going to break a few legs."

Chu Ling: ...That sounds like a familiar phrase.

A cold wind blew in through the cracks in the doors and windows, and the candles in the hall had long been extinguished.

Xie Yan walked with her hands in her sleeves as if on flat ground in the pitch-black darkness.

He strolled leisurely to the backyard, greeted one of Chu Ling's men who was in charge of surveillance, and stopped under the eaves of a small hut, listening to the sounds coming from inside.

"Big brother, shall we make a move?"

"No rush, let me think about it..."

"Brother, how many deals have we pulled off? Why are you so hesitant today?"

"Idiots! Can't you see? Those guards may not look very bright, but their skills are definitely extraordinary!"

Xie Yan recognized the voices of the men who had asked for drinks. These men had clearly left in the rain after drinking, but it seemed they had returned through the back door.

After being scolded by the men who called him "Big Brother," the room fell silent for a moment.

After a moment, the waiter's voice rang out: "But I've examined that cart of porcelain, and it's all top-quality!"

One sentence from him made the other underlings somewhat interested.

"Brother, the time to offer tribute is fast approaching, but we haven't prepared nearly enough. We might get punished by the second-in-command when we get back!"

Upon hearing the words "tribute," Xie Yan frowned slightly.

"How could I not know that? But there were too many of them, and the kid didn't take his medicine at dinner..."

"Brother, how about I go back to the village right now and call everyone over?"

The older man pondered for a long time before finally sighing helplessly, "You two go back and call for help now."

Upon hearing the sound, the two hurriedly pushed open the door and ran out of the inn. They didn't even have time to grab their raincoats before rushing off in the rain. Naturally, they didn't see Xie Yan, who had an expressionless face, following behind them.

"Xuanfeng, do you think it takes that long to break a leg?"

Inside the side room, Meng Lan counted the hours and asked Yu Bai a question.

Yu Bai was speechless: "...You've mistaken me for someone else."

"Oh!" Meng Lan immediately turned to the other side. "Yu Bai, what do you think?"

Xuanfeng: "...Seriously, you should go back and have the imperial physician take a good look at you."

"No need, the imperial physicians have already examined me and said that this eye disease is incurable."

I'm talking about the brain.

"Who's got a problem with their brain?"

The three looked over and saw Xie Yan, soaking wet, carrying two unconscious guys in the doorway.

He sighed and threw the man into the house. Then he shuddered, and a continuous stream of heat emanated from him, drying his clothes.

Hearing the commotion, Chu Ling came out and saw Xie Yan squatting on the ground, slapping the faces of the two corpses repeatedly.

"Hey, stop playing dead, I know you're awake."

Perhaps because Xie Yan pointed it out, or perhaps because they were about to be slapped into a pig's head if they didn't wake up, the two finally slowly opened their eyes.

Their faces, bruised and battered, stared at the group in terror, stammering, "What...what are you going to do?!"

After a pause, they suddenly realized what she meant, gasped, and stared at Xie Yan, who was wearing a skirt and speaking in her natural voice, "A man?! A dead man!"

Xie Yan slapped him twice without any expression.

"Don't try to change the subject, just tell me the truth."

"Bah! Dreaming!"

"Snapped!"

"wait,"

"Clap!"

"Help……"

"Clap clap clap!"

For a moment, the only sound echoing in the room was Xie Yan's whirlwind of slaps.

Xuanfeng and the others felt a slight stinging pain in their faces as they watched, and tried to stop him: "Uh, why don't you stop for a moment?"

Xie Yan was surprised: "But none of them are willing to speak."

Looking at the man whose face was so swollen that his features were unrecognizable, everyone thought to themselves: You didn't seem to give them a chance to speak.

In the end, Chu Ling sent his guards to bring back the rest of the group who were anxiously waiting in the small room. But strangely, the waiter was still there, but the female shop owner had disappeared.

In the lobby—

The leader was bound hand and foot and pushed in front of Chu Ling. He first cursed fiercely, then glanced at the two brothers who were barely recognizable as human, and immediately choked on his saliva.

Before he could swallow, the waiter's screams came from outside again.

The screams were deafening, so powerful they moved everyone who heard them, and for some reason, made them want to silently cover their vital parts.

Xuanfeng walked in with a look of unbearable disapproval and whispered in Chu Ling's ear in a voice loud enough for everyone present to hear, "The person is already crippled."

Chu Ling sat in the seat of honor, glanced at the sweating leader, and coldly said, "Drag him away."

The man clearly hadn't expected them to deal with him without asking any questions.

Seeing the cold, lifeless gazes directed at him as if he were an inanimate object, he blurted out without thinking, "No! Don't kill me! I'll tell you everything!"

Xie Yan watched the waiter convulsing in pain from outside, bored. She waited and waited, but no one else was brought out. So she went inside and almost bumped into Xuan Feng, who was walking towards her.

"What's the rush?"

Xuanfeng was stuffing a token into his pocket, his expression serious. "Damn it, these people are bandits. There's a bandit den here! They've captured quite a few people. The prince has ordered me to go and mobilize troops now."

Xie Yan seemed to be deep in thought. The fact that troops needed to be mobilized meant that there were still quite a few people in this bandit den, but what was the purpose of capturing so many people?

"...Spare me! That's all I know, I really don't know who the offerings are for..."

Xie Yan entered just as the man finished speaking, and everyone in the room wore the same solemn expression.

This place is located in the wilderness, far from any jurisdiction. If they hadn't happened to pass by, no one would have known how long these scoundrels would have been able to roam freely, or what their true intentions were.

Chu Ling ordered his men to drag him away, and remained silent in thought.

He sent Xuanfeng to gather troops nearby, but there was no guarantee that he could attack them without alerting the bandits. If they took the captured people hostage, things would get complicated.

Prince Chu was having a rare headache when suddenly a wisp of flowing skirt caught his eye.

He looked up and saw Xie Yan, who had her back to him, directing the guards to make him a midnight snack. He slowly revealed a warm smile.

Xie Yan shivered inexplicably; he suddenly had a bad feeling.